Get Down On All Fours

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Recently in our music class, Veronika’s instructor had the grown-ups get down on all fours for a train song, and the looks of surprise and delight on the babies’ faces were priceless! So today, I did something similar with Veronika at home. When you get down to crawl on baby’s level, it not only makes him or her feel special, but it also leads to lots of fun.

First, it was big brother’s turn to crawl. I challenged them to a “race” towards a toy. You’ll notice that he crawled so fast I barely had time to get in a picture of the race!

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But Veronika was undaunted and giddily crawled over to join him.

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Next, I set up an obstacle course. She thought it was so silly to see mommy zig and zag through the pillows on my knees. The obstacle course led us up and over, so not only were we having fun on all fours together, but she got to practice her climbing skills.

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Then I copied that train game from our music class, pushing a toy train around while I crawled behind it.

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It was plain to see she loved it! Definitely consider this game if your baby is close to trading a crawl for a walk.

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Pack a Purse

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Forget toys: Babies always want to use our grown-up things, whether that’s keys, cell phones, wallets, or anything else off-limits. Control that urge by safely packing up a purse that baby can go through, in this cute game.

I grabbed an old purse that was small enough for Veronika to hold easily. I filled it with “mommy” things like a pack of wipes, sunglasses, old store cards, and a spare set of keys. She immediately wanted to know what was in there!

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Ooh, wipes were fun!

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And sunglasses were a big hit.

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The more pockets the better. Veronika had to dig around a little to find the cards I’d hidden, and then loved playing with them.

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If you prefer, you can also buy little toy purses “just like mommy’s”. Veronika has a mini version with her own “cell phone” “car keys” and more!

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Harvest Coasters

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These coasters are a great project to have your kid feel involved in Thanksgiving prep, whether or you’re hosting and need extra coasters for guests, or whether you bring them as a hostess gift.

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I helped Travis draw a few common fall fruits and veggies onto different colors of craft foam. He tackled a round red apple, while I made trickier shapes like a green bell pepper, yellow butternut squash, and orange pumpkin.

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We added a few details like leaves and stems with marker, and cut out.

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Cut circles from thin cardboard to fit the back of each shape and glue on with tacky glue.

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Let dry completely before putting your festive drink on top.

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Holiday nog anyone?

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Mashed Potato Sculpture

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This is a great sensory activity… and a way to get your kid to try mashed potatoes!

Start with instant mashed potatoes as the base. Yes, you can bake and mash your own, but the instant stuff has a sticky quality that makes it better suited to this “art” project. I whipped up a batch using almond milk, Earth Balance butter, and the potato flakes, and then let it cool completely.

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When Veronika was finished with lunch, I spooned a huge heap of this onto her tray. She looked instantly delighted!

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Set out a few props to encourage the artistic process. Veronika received a measuring cup and spoon, and soon was scooping, digging, and poking holes in it.

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I showed her how to make a few “sculptural” elements, including round balls and little snakes.

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I tried for a little mashed potato snowman, but Veronika didn’t let him last long!

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And of course she discovered that little bites of the stuff was delicious. Eager fingers kept digging in for more, both to eat and to play!

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Giraffe Cord Keeper

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Let’s face it: cords are a part of our kids lives these days, whether for tablets, toys, or any of a dozen other gadgets and games. This adorable cord keeper from Highlights magazine is the perfect way for Travis to wind up his favorite robot’s cord when it’s not charging.

To start, I drew a giraffe head and neck on thin cardboard (an old cereal box was perfect), and we glued it onto yellow felt. Let dry, then cut out.

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I also cut out details from other colors of felt (big kids can do this themselves). We used brown for the nose and horns, orange for the ears, and a quirky purple for the giraffe’s spots!

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Travis loved gluing everything down, especially a silly white tie.

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Decorate with puffy paint for a few final touches. I loved the “smile” that Travis gave his giraffe.

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Once dry, cut a slit in the giraffe’s neck. This is the notch to start winding your cord. Simply continue winding around the giraffe’s long neck until everything is nice and tidy.

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Where Game

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At her one year physical, the pediatrician asked if Veronika is pointing yet. This is one milestone she hasn’t hit, which isn’t a concern, but I realized it’s probably because I only rarely model the behavior. So today we played The Where Game!

This is the simplest game ever. Walk around any room in the house asking where things are. “Where is Veronika’s crib?” “Where is big brother’s bed?” “Where is the window?” As I asked each question, I pointed first and then exclaimed, “Here it is!”.

Where are her books? She found them.

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When we were downstairs by the computer, I asked where it was. Her little hand began reaching out in a point, almost too fast to catch on camera. But she’s starting to ge tthe idea!

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Rotini with Bolognese Sauce

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Serve this easy vegan bolognese with whole wheat pasta or any of the new chickpea or lentil pasta on the market. It’ll pack a big protein punch for little eaters.

Ingredients:

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons Earth Balance butter
  • 1/2 Vidalia onion
  • 1 celery stalk
  • 12 ounces meatless crumbles (such as Lightlife)
  • 1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • Rotini pasta
  • Vegan Parmesan sprinkles
  1. Heat the olive oil and butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.
  2. Dice the onion and celery and add to the pot; cook for 5 minutes.
  3. Add the meatless crumbles; cook for 4 minutes.
  4. Stir in the tomato sauce and tomato paste; cook for a final 3 to 4 minutes, until heated through.
  5. Meanwhile, cook your favorite rotini pasta according to package directions. Serve the sauce over the pasta, and sprinkle with the Parmesan to taste.

For little ones who are Baby Led Weaning, you can serve piles of the sauce next to pieces of cooked pasta for a more deconstructed version.

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Baby’s Poem

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If your baby has older siblings, then he or she is likely eager for the day when a baby brother or sister can truly talk. Help keep things amusing in the meantime with this cute, family-friendly activity.

Make a list of the words your baby can say so far. For Veronika, this is a mix of vocalizations and baby signs, and she’s picked up some funny first ones. On our list we had:

  • diaper
  • cat
  • socks
  • tickle
  • bus
  • mama
  • dada

Big brother Travis loved brainstorming the list, adding the “ta ta” that she says for Travis.

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Now it was time to turn her words into a poem! Take turns as family members adding sentences. I started things off on a silly note with:

“The cat in socks likes to tickle the bus.”

Travis immediately latched on and added:

“The bus got to tickle the cat.”

Our poem ended with:

“Veronika put a diaper on ta ta

And mama and dada took it off.”

As you can see, there are no rules and no need to rhyme. But it had Travis laughing, had all of us marveling at the words she can say already, and now has us excited for what word comes next.

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What was your baby’s first word? Please share in the comments!

 

The Power of Protein

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When Travis gets home from school, man oh man is he tired. I’m dismayed, therefore, if I look in his lunchbox and find food that has gone uneaten, as he learns to make sure he gets enough before rushing off to recess.

So the timing of this lesson plan from Raddish Kids was perfect. It gave me an entry point to talk about why he needs to prioritize certain portions of his meal, and have enough energy for those long kindergarten days.

Start with this fun challenge: I asked him to balance on one leg, which he proudly did as he counted to 10.

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But could he do it with his eyes closed??? Whoa, now he wobbled!

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Raddish’s talking points explain how – just like in this exercise – our bodies need balance on the inside or we might wobble and tip. You can give examples like rest vs. activity and then launch into the idea of eating foods in balance.

The main focus here was on protein. Raddish provided a whole page full of protein facts, and we watched a suggested video. For our vegan family, I filled in a few gaps, explaining how we can get protein from tofu, beans, lentils, whole grains, and more.

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Now it was time to see what he’d learned! We went through grocery fliers and I asked him to pinpoint the protein-rich foods. (Again, this was a bit odd for our family; when there was chicken or turkey, I pointed out that we can eat vegan versions of these). The activity helped him hone his understanding of protein after guessing wrongly on a few items (like tomatoes, or banana bread).

Now it was time to put our bodies to the test! I showed him the My Plate graphic and explained we’d be charting his food for five days. He loved making tally marks.

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My formerly fantastic veggie eater has been nixing them lately, so this was also a nice way to show him where his balance was “tippy”. After a day with only one veggie serving, he was inspired to eat lots more the following day!

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Older kids can extend the lesson by looking at food ads in magazines, and discussing how the advertiser persuades you to eat in a certain way. Your kids may even want to make their own ad!

Overall, this was a useful lesson, though perhaps not as “fun” as other Raddish lesson plans.

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Who Says MOOO?

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Here’s an easy variation on teaching animal sounds to your little one. Print out brightly colored pictures of a few favorite animals (or cut them from children’s magazines) and have them laminated.

Now you have the perfect “flash cards” for having fun with sounds.

Veronika knows and copies two of these already: cat:meow and dog:woof, so I showed her these cards first.

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She loved the cat image so much she hugged it and didn’t want to put it down.

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The dog got her experimental “ffff” sound, plus silly play.

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When I showed her the cow and asked,”Who says moooooo?” in a loud imitation, she looked up at me in delight. She’d never heard such a long moo. I think she even tried to vocalize it back.

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We also went through a few common animals like horse:neigh, pig:oink and sheep:baa.

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The cards themselves were a delight to her, so we’ll keep these around for lots of play and learning!

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